Gale

I cannot for the life of me give a coherent description of this, as far as notes go. It smells clean and fresh, not at all powdery in the "baby powder smell" sense. It's soft. It's warm. It's fresh smelling. All at once. It lasts forever, and doesn't morph. I am so happy I got a bottle! (It even got an overtly positive reaction from DH, which pretty much never happens!)

Milk cresting on an ocean wave. This is incredible, and I had bad luck with the milky note in both Milk Moons. Wet: Salty ocean air and milk--odd, but refreshing! Dry and for the duration: This turns into pure milk on me, not foody, not heavy or sour, but light and bright and creamy. This is perfection for Summer and I need a bottle, Stat. Thank you for creating this, Beth.

Wet: Berries, honey and musk. Nice! On and dry: Oh mama, this is gorgeous. a true berry scent that doesn't go all screaming sweet (thanks be to the fig and musk I'll bet). This is absolutely delightful. Warm, deep, and fruity.

I was alittle spooked by the reviews (sour...pungent) but was far too intrugued to pass it up. So, here goes: Wet: Definitely milky, a bit reminiscent of the Milk Moons, but no sourness. On and Dry: A really nice, milky scent, fresh and clean with the fig adding some fruity earthiness. It stays close to the skin, but lasts. All in all, I like this so much I may need another bottle!

... Golden honey and moss, with honeysuckle, chamomile, parsley, white gardenia, frankincense, carnation, vervain, gum arabic, yarrow, and liquid copal. I adore the Lab's honey note, so I loved the original Litha--all honey and a bit of floral. I immediately ordered Litha 09. Here's my take: Wet: Quite herbal smelling, fresh and green Dry: It warms up and the beautiful honey comes to the fore and stays there. Dry, it is very much like Litha 06, but with a dried flower/herb scent. Verdict: I love it dearly and it will get a lot of wear this summer!

Yes indeed, this is gardenia--a lovely, sweet gardenia. And while it is lovely, I wasn't bowled over at first. After about an hour: Oh my--this has turned into something so incredibly, indescribably gorgeous. The gardenai softens, and the honey and paper notes turn this into what another poster upthread referred to as the scent of clean. That is a perfect description. I kept looking around thinking, what smells so wonderful? Hello, wrist. Hello, 5ml!

This was a surprise hit for me. Wet: Cherry blossoms, sweet and fresh and soft. Dry: This develops a skin-muskiness that mingles with the cherry blossom, and makes want to melt. The moss does appear, and serves to ground the scent a little in an almost sandalwood-type way. I love this, it is comfort, warmth, and beauty.

I don't know why I'm writing this, because it won't be too helpful.... Except that this is so beautiful and unlike anything I've ever smelled. I can't identify any single notes--it's just perfection. I am not a floral lover, nor am I a rose lover, but this is so different and so perfectly balanced. Someone upthread said it was "voluptuous" and that is the truth.

White chocolate, marshmallow, and coconut. This is delightful! In the bottle: White chocolate, not much else. On and dry: Aha! Now the coconut fairly explodes on my skin, which has thankfully cooperated and kept a nice, sweet, true coconut going along with the white chocolate. The marshmallow shows up as extra creaminess after about 30 minutes or so, and all three scents blend beautifully. It does remind me of Midway, but lasts longer, and I think the white chocolate note makes it a bit richer. I love it, and am very, very happy I got a bottle unsniffed! (Edited because I can't type on the keyboard at home.)

I am loving this one to death! Wet: Strawberries (real live strawberries) and creamy white chocolate. It really does smell different from milk or dark chocolate scents. Dry and going for 6 hours: The strawberry stays true and the white chocolate becomes slightly creamier. This is utterly delightful, and on my skin it isn't fading. I don't know how Beth does it. But I'm so glad she does!

Another Shunga winner for me! Wet: Plum--sweet juicy and delicious. Dry: The other notes begin to come out and temper the sweetness of the plum, but not much, as this is a light and sweet blend. The nutmeg adds some creamy spiciness, and the vanilla sandalwood hangs in theback. After a couple hours: Now I smell the rice note, which further tones down the sweetness, and makes it just plain gorgeous. This is not in your face sexy, but it is a showstopper all the same!

Oh this is a good one! Wet: Vanilla cake, mostly--sweet. Dry: Still cake, but now I can smell the other notes, with ginger and oud in the forefront, the oakmoss and palm date adding a little green (but just a little). I can't precisely call this foody; it's sweet, golden and warm. Just beautiful. I have a feeling that I'm going to be falling hard for a lot of the Shunga scents this year.

I have been searching for quite some time for the perfect cinnamon bun, Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzel, yummy bakery scent. The search is over. Back up bottle needed.

Oh, beautiful! Wet: Pomegranates, of course. Deep and strong and sweet. On and dry: Wow. Pomegranate with something maybe a little musky and spicy that deepens it and keeps the fruitiness in check. This is absolutely gorgeous, and lasts for hours (and I wasn't even slathering). This might require a second bottle. It's perfection itself.

This is a wonderfully evocative scent! Wet: The BPAL snowy note hits, but even here, there is a hint of the sweetness of the vineyard. Really beautiful even so early. Dry: Wow--incredible. Pine resin, snow, and grapes meld together into a gorgeous sweet warmth. Strange, but it feels warm. I love this one!

Even though I don't actually wear it, just sniffing Kumiho makes me happy--I can see how Vampire Tears or Baobhan Sith would also work.

I was too terrified to even think about trying this one, since red musk hates me to death. But when I got this as a frimp from a swap (thanks Marlena!) I gave it a go. Wet: Sweet, strong, and smelling like something crimson. On and dry: It stays the same on me, very sweet, deep, and dead sexy. This is a classic BPAL scent, instantly identifiable as a product of Beth's genius. A tiny bit was all I used, and it lasted for hours. Do I need a bottle of this? Do I ever!! This is the first red musk scent that not only doesn't hate me, it loves me! A masterpiece.

This is wonderful! From wet to dry, it doesn't change. It's sugary sweet molasses and honey with wood underneath. Surprisingly, it's not heavy or cloying on me, but rather quite clean smelling. The throw isn't huge, but boy do I love catching random whiffs of it as I move. DH likes it, but I suspect that's because when we were visiting the Outer Banks NC, we stayed in Kill-Devil Hills. My son loves it, but he's an evil enabler to begin with. So glad I bought a bottle straight off!

In the bottle: Pumpkin and butter. Smells alot like Jack, which is fine because I love Jack. On and Dry: Wow, is this a morpher! Where was that delicious citrus hiding? And that ginger? This is so incredibly delicious. I love lemon cake and ginger and vanilla and pumpkin. This is the sum of all of those things blended into one divine autumn delight! I'm afraid one bottle isn't going to do it!

I got this lovely as a frimp from the Lab (while I wait for my bottle). Wet: Oh no! Red musk--Red musk hates me and will hunt down and kill any perfume on me. I'm a little scared. On and Dry: Baby! Oh, it's beautiful! The red musk has all but vanished, and now I smell wine, incense, woods, and yes, under it all, cocoa. JOY. I most definitely see the family resemblance to Mme. Moriarty, here. So glad I ordered a bottle.

I am so incredibly disappointed--I was on the verge of hoarding, but now I'm glad I didn't. Wet: Yum! Pear, and sweet creamy vanilla. On: As soon as it hits my skin, the vanilla turns into the vanilla from Snake Oil that I cannot wear. Yes, plasticky is how it's been described, and that's what my skin does to it. It stays this way for the duration. Disappointed? No, I'm crushed.

Another Fall favorite! Wet: Fir, patchouli, smoke, and faintly sweet spices. This is quite a bit different from last year's, which was very much pumpkins and apples. Dry: The patchouli gets stronger, but so do the apples, pumpkin and spices. They blend together and make each other behave. The smoke stays in the background. This is really beautifully done. The combination of apples, pumpkin and patchouli with a breath of smoke is just perfect. I know what I'll be wearing to Sleepy Hollow this year!

This was such a surprise! I did not expect to like this at all, let alone love it--especially since I am in sweet, foody mode right now. In the imp and wet: Dark, bitter, and earthy. There's a menthol-like bite that clears my sinuses. I don't know what it is, but it smells cold and it's not at all minty. On and dry: Wow. This is so incredibly beautiful and evocative. It warms up considerably. It is spicy but not sweet. All I can say about this is that it smells exactly like how I hoped Shub would smell, even though ginger is not listed in the notes. It's a cold night in a warm house with leaves blowing through the streets and clouds racing across the moon. You're uncanny, Beth, having somehow captured the tail end of Autumn in a bottle.

I couldn't wait for my decant (or the bottle I ordered), so I got a partial. So glad I did! This is heaven. Heaven. Wet: Pumpkin, white chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and fruit. It's a buttery pumpkin, but not scary. Dry: More buttery, but not overwhelming, sweet, creamy, nutty pumpkin, with a tangy fruitiness. There is no single note that dominates. It is perfection, it is delicous, I love it. LOVE IT

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